Catch you, Catch me!
by MufuMufuSenpai
Summary: It was cool that Takane was just a boring high school student during the day, and the notorious thief 'Headphone Actor' at night. It was all cool until the person who was in charge of capturing her transfers into her class, and then it wasn't cool anymore. Harutaka AU. [DISCONTINUED]
1. Prologue

Catch you, Catch me!

_This chapter is unedited_

**Warnings:** None this Chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kagerou Project/ Kagerou Days/ MCA or it's characters.

**A/N:** "You know what you should do? Start another story -a multi-chap at that!- while you still haven't finished the others! Doesn't that sound fun?"  
Hell yea it does.

-shrugs shamelessly- This fandom needs more AU fanfics anyways and one good thing about being a fanfiction author is being able to write what one wants. Then again, you have to _write_. Sighs. Oh well. I hope people enjoy this and I'll try to update soon. -Has no idea where they are going with this-

Enjoy!

_**EDIT: 5/25/14**_Ah, changed the writing style It wasn't really a style change, more of changing the pretenses. I tried something an- Yeah. Didn't really fill my cup like I wanted it to so I changed it! :D Hopefully I edited this correctly...Oh well. -shrugs-

* * *

Prologue

"Ah, so you're the very famous 'Konoha', the famous high school aged detective." Kenjirou said, plainly. He was staring blankly at the lanky boy in front of him. "Er...I knew you were coming, but I was expecting someone more..."

"Cooler? Ouch." The lanky boy said, laughing and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I know, people usually don't see me as the type to be a detective, a high school one at that." He smiles, and gave a one shoulder shrug. "Still, I'd like to help out on this case! If, I mean...that's alright with you?" Another smile.

Kenjirou sighed.

Really, it was bad enough that a thief has been making a mockery of _his_ police force. Then comes the oh so famous 'Konoha', a detective famous for his age _and_ his skills. If that wasn't rubbing it in that his police force couldn't handle a simple _thief _then what did?

Still, it would be nice to actually have this case closed and filed.

"Oh, I guess we need all the help we can get." Kenjirou muttered, and nods towards the lanky boy. Now that he took a closer look, he noticed a small mole under one of his eyes. Other than that, the boy was plain looking. "Have this." He held up the folder that was on his desk, and the boy took it tentatively.

Thumbing through the pages, the boy was speaking. "Oh, I also heard that the thief only steals jewels?" He asked, not looking up from the file.

"Yes." Kenjirou admitted slightly bitter. "And she returns them the next day. She is basically mocking my police force in the cruelest way possible. She always put's on a big show, leaving messages like stealing these jewels are a joke."

He took a moment, needing a moment to calm down. This thief was a tricky little bugger who seemingly refused to get caught and costing the police force money in her sick game of hide and seek. Sighing deeply, Kenjirou took a huge drink of coffee.

Ah, if only it was a bit more Irish.

"She?" The boy said, glancing up. His hair moved with his movement, and Kenjirou dully noted that it was messy. Kids and their styles now a days. "How do you know the thief's a she?"

"There's a picture of her in the back." Kenjirou said, and the boy blinked. They both seemed to notice that the boy had been holding the folder backwards and the boy laughs sheepishly, fixing it quickly and finding the picture. "We don't have a name for her, but considering the 'act' she insists on playing, along with the headphones she wears, we have dubbed her 'Headphone Actor'." He snorted, softly, taking another swig of coffee, sadly noting that he was almost out.

"...'Headphone Actor'?" The boy mused, softly. Kenjirou knew the picture he was currently examining, seeing as of that he had stared at it countless time. They just _couldn't_ get a good picture of the thief, and thus the image that they had was blurry and a bit grainy. Still, the clear outline of pigtails and headphones was shown in the photo. They also filed in reports that the thief wore a gas mask as well.

Like he had thought earlier, _kids and their stupid styles_.

"Hn." Kenjirou started, setting his now empty coffee mug on the desk. "What do you think?" He asked, gruffly. It was getting late and Kenjirou just wanted to go home and have a nice family dinner with his family who he hasn't seen properly in a while.

He was feeling _deprived._ Kenjirou sighed and looked up at the boy who finally started to talk.

"I think..." Haruka Kokonose said, with a huge smile and closing the file gently."That I can't wait to meet her."

* * *

Enjoy this chapter? Why not leave a review/favorite/follow?

They're greatly appreciated.

Like, totally.

:D

-AJ


	2. Chapter 1

Catch you, Catch me!

_This chapter is unedited._

**Warnings:** Cussing. Bad writing, haha.

**A/N:** This story is just one big 'wing it'. Orz. This chapter was constructed over various period of time and poorly stitched together by poor wit and test fried brain power. Yep. Also, I tried a different way of writing last chapter. I might rewrite that later, but for now:

Enjoy!

(P.S PLEASE SERIOUSLY TELL ME IF THERE ARE ANY GRAMMAR/SPELLING MISTAKES. I'm lazy.)

* * *

Chapter One

Being a thief wasn't easy.

It meant worrying late into the night, and being paranoid during the day. Plus, no one -almost no one, that is- knew who you were. It was exhausting, and for Takane Enomoto, it meant being more tired than she usually was.

Call her a fool, an idiot, whatever.

She called herself desperate.

"Oi, idiot." A voice told her, and she let out a groan in response. Takane dug her head deeper into her pillows, and tugged the blanket tighter around her. She was comfortable and warm and she'll be _damned_ if she broke her alarm clock for nothing. These few extra minutes of sleep were _well earned._ "Get up. We're going to be late."

"No, asshole," Takane slurred. "You go away..."

"You're impossible." The voice grunted, and suddenly, Takane's blanket was ripped away.

It took a few moments to react.

Sitting upright, Takane glared wildly at the destroyer of dreams, of hopes, a smart ass who was only good at being half of it, someone who went by the name of Shintaro Kisaragi. He smirked lazily in response, and let the blanket fall to the already cluttered floor.

"Rise and shine, _Actor_." Shintaro greeted, over her angry sputtering. "Now hurry up and get dressed, or we're going to be late for school."

As much as Takane wanted to argue, she held back a grimace and gave a curt nod. What he called her lingered in her mind.

_Actor._

As in, 'Headphone Actor', the notorious thief who never gets caught and always returns what she stole the next day. -"What a _stupid_ name..." "A stupid name for a stupid person? Fitting, really." "Kisaragi, you fucking bastard."- She was the most wanted on the police list right now, and Takane herself had a few laughs at the comments aimed towards her in the local newspapers.

It seemed that Ayano's dad, head of the police force, had very low opinions on _Actor._

Takane felt sorry for Ayano, for having such a creepy person as a father. Someone as nice as her didn't deserve such a fate. Or...perhaps she did? After all, she did wear her red muffler almost _always_ and claimed that it was the color of heroes.

Maybe the Tateyama family had a justice fetish.

…

Which is exactly the reason why Ayano doesn't know about Takane's alter ego, 'Headphone Actor'. As much as Takane would like for her to be in on it, it wouldn't work out in her favor. Shintaro only knows because Takane is a weak, and stupid, soul.

So, so, stupid.

She would've been caught the first week stealing if it wasn't for Shintaro.

The oh so 'smart and potentially gifted' Shintaro was her only confidant. Which is just sad in Takane's case, but beggars can't be choosers, now can they? Especially when it came down to it, Takane didn't have a _choice._ She had to do this, and Shintaro, thankfully, understood that.

Her Grandfather was putting her between a rock and hard place. Honestly. Who cares about saving the money for Takane's future? Especially if said Grandpa desperately needed it for a surgery? Ugh, sometimes Takane hated the stubbornness that was her Grandpa.

If he wants to be stubborn, then so can Takane.

Hell, 'stubborn' was practically Takane's middle name.

…

"How the hell did you even get into my house?" Takane said. She was talking around a mouthful of toast. "I'm pretty sure my Grandma locks up the house before she goes over to the hospital." Ever since Grandpa was hospitalized, Takane had to pretty much take care of the house and herself seeing as of that her Grandma would spend almost every waking moment with him.

Not that she could blame her. In fact, it helped with Takane's activities as 'Headphone Actor'.

"Hidden key, under the rock beside the doorway." Shintaro shrugged. "Pretty obvious."

"Pretty _stalkerish_." Takane retorted. "Holy hell, is it that easy to find that thing? I'm going to have to have a talk with Grandma..." But, after some thought, Takane agreed it was pretty obvious seeing a random rock on the porch.

"Whatever. We need to talk about your next heist." Shintaro continued. "After school, I'm going to send the calling card to the police. Then we're going to go over your goal and hopefully, that will be it until the next time it cools down." He sent her an amused glance. "You're been getting quite popular, lately. Maybe we should take a longer break this time..."

Takane glared. "We can't afford one. _He_ can't afford one."

"Hm." Shintaro hummed in agreement and looked forward. He kept walking. After a few quiet moments of walking, and school coming into view, he said. "Ayano is getting suspicious."

"Hu—What?" Takane blinked. "Of what?" Of _her_? She swore that she did her best to keep Ayano in the dark of 'Headphone Actor'. It wasn't _that_ hard, she just had to act like she always did: uninterested. "About what? If you're accusing me of something-"

"No, idiot. I mean, she is getting suspicious of the two of us hanging out more than usual." Shintaro's voice indicated a clear '_Duh_'. Like Takane was supposed to already have known this. She scowled. "She texted me last night asking why and I didn't know how to respond other than you needing help on math." A pause. "How _are_ you in math? Last time I check you were fail-"

"None of your business!" Takane snapped. She huffed and lowered her voice as they entered the school gates. "And what is there to be suspicious _of_? Can't two..._friends_ hang out together?" The word tasted bitter on her tongue, but it was true. They were friends on some odd level.

-_"Hey, help me thieve some stuff, will ya? :D"_

_-"Lol, suuurrreeee. BFFs forever! n.n"_

Takane made a face. They may be friends who helped each other out at times, but she swore to god that was going to change if they started talking like that to each other. Shintaro eyed her as they entered their homeroom class together, as if sensing her imaginary conversation.

"..." He sat down and waited for her to sit down next to him before he started talking. Ayano, luckily, wasn't anywhere in sight yet. "She is using the 'Don't make me feel like a third wheel' card." Shintaro made a face. "Not our fault, if she is a third wheel. All she talks about is 'Headphone Actor' and how her dad is going to catch her sooner or later."

"Hmph." Takane pulled out her notebook and a pencil. "He can try, alright. He can try."

"Don't get cocky." Shintaro muttered, resting his head on the desk. His voice was muffled. "Just because we haven't got caught so far, doesn't mean the possibility is out the window. Your chances are pretty good with me on your side but, not everything is impossible."

And he's calling _her_ cocky? "Egh, whatever. Hey, do you have the notes we took in Biology, yesterday? I was, er...busy." Takane asked, ready to just drop the conversation and leave it at that. So far, the police force hasn't been able to catch her, and as long as she played it safe, it will stay that way.

Still, something akin to paranoia itched at the base of her spine, and she shivered.

"Hm? Busy my ass. Why didn't you ask for them last night, when I was over at your house? Idiot." Shintaro grumbled, and searched through his bag. "Where is Ayano? She is never this late. School is about to start." He added, glancing up at the doorway. He squinted. "Unless she is caught up with doing something..."

"Awh, does the big, bad, awesome Shintaro miss his crush?" Takane huffed, making grabby hands at the notes he pulled out. "I'm sure she's fine. She is Ayano, after all, the hero and all that. Now are you going to hand those over or what? I don't want to get lunch detention again."

"Tch." Shintaro scowled. Takane didn't miss the blush, though, and she inwardly smirked. "She isn't my crush. She is an idiot. Now here, before I change my mind and let you fail." He shoved the notes towards her, as the bell rang.

Takane hurriedly grabbed them and made plans to copy during her free time. The itching paranoia didn't go away.

She glanced at Shintaro to see if he was suffering the same problem, but nope, apparently all he cared about was Ayano walking through the door. It was only ten minutes after the bell before she came it.

And dammit, who was the guy next to her?

"Ahhh- Sorry, sorry!" , Ayano's mom, apologized to the class as they entered. Ayano was grinning hugely and the mystery guy was smiling a bit sheepishly. "I was just being introduced to our new student and got a bit caught up." She laughed.

Ayano sent an encouraging smile to the mystery guy, and Takane glanced at Shintaro to see him pale and gripping the edges of his desk. She rose her eyebrows and wondered if Shintaro had some jealousy issues or if he had some beef with the guy.

"His name is Haruka Kokonose!" Mrs. Tateyama said. "He is transferring to our class for the time being, on a case." Takane frowned and kept glancing at Shintaro and the mystery guy. Case? He was only a high school student...unless she actually meant a 'case', then that would just be weird.

A quick glance at Haruka's feet supplied her that he was, in fact, not on a case. But what could Mrs. Tateyama mean?

"Hello." Haruka greeted the class. The class chorused back mumbled 'good mornings' and 'hellos'. Shintaro was too busy freaking Takane out that both of them stayed quiet. "I hope to make some new friends here."

"And we hope you enjoy your stay as well!" Mrs. Tateyama nodded. She shuffled through her desk and frowned. "Ah... it seems that I was a bit _too_ caught up this morning that I forgot the announcements. I'll be right back! Remember, behave or it's detention." She said, already out the door.

Haruka stood awkwardly in front of the class. Shintaro was still pale and freaking Takane out. Ayano was practically vibrating in her seat.

Takane was about to punch Shintaro, or jump out the window, or maybe both, before Ayano was already up and talking to Haruka. Along with half the class. She frowned. Their class was never this _nice, _and if it was, then Takane must be slower than she thought.

"Wow! Are you really him?"

"You're so cool!"

"The wonderful 'Konoha', right in our classroom! This is so awesome!" Konoha?

What? Is this Haruka person someone famous? Konoha sounded like a pen name...Maybe he was a very popular gamer? She froze. If he was, then she'd had to be careful. It was embarrassing enough to be 'LightingDancerEne' online, she didn't need it to be out.

God, that would be embarrassing.

"Are you here for the 'Headphone Actor' case?"

Wait.

Wait, what?

"Maybe you can actually be the one to catch her? Wouldn't that be so cool?"

Haruka laughed, and Takane twitched at the sound. It felt as if everything was stripped bare and dipped in honey. The world was slow. "I'm mostly wanting just to meet her, actually." He admitted, and he had the gull to sound fucking embarrassed.

Before Takane could stand up and yell at him, Shintaro stomped on her foot. _Hard._

"Ow, you bitch-!" Takane hissed, as Shintaro tugged her down so that they were practically nose to nose in between the desk. She was about to comment about how gross it was that they were so close together before he spoke.

"Shut. Up." Shintaro's breath smelled of soda. Ew. "You need to be quiet. We- fuck..." He took a deep breath and exhaled, and Takane had enough of that. She leaned back. "We can do this, we can do this, we can do this..." He chanted, and Takane was still making a face.

"Dear god, do you ever drink something _other_ than soda? Or do you plan on dying of diabetes at a young age?" Takane said. Though she couldn't really talk all that much, seeing as of that her diet as of late was junk food and soda. But _holy hell_, the amount of soda Shintaro drinks should be illegal.

"Shut up." Shintaro mumbled, and Takane was relieved that he appeared to be a bit calmer. His hand was still gripping his pencil harshly, though. "We need to be calm. We can _do_ this." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself and not Takane.

Takane sent another curious and cautious glance at Haruka. Almost all the class was surrounding him and asking him questions, and that was good, because Takane was sure that Shintaro and her would've made enough noise to draw attention. Ayano was even oblivious as she was the one asking the most questions and grinning herself silly.

Takane haven't seen her this excited since her favorite anime came out.

"Who the hell is he?" Takane muttered, and glanced at Shintaro.

"He," Shintaro swallowed and slumped into his seat. His eyes were trained on Haruka though. "He might be the one to get you caught."

Takane didn't know whether to laugh, or to cry.

* * *

Like this chapter? Why not review, favorite, follow?

Or maybe you'd like a soda? Either way, I'm cool, man.

-AJS


	3. Chapter 2

Catch you, Catch me!

_This chapter is unedited._

**Warnings:** Swears, no editing.

**A/N:** Good news is that in the next chapter, the interactions of 'Actor' and 'Konoha' will be there! Bad news is that I haven't written any of that and might not be able to post it until after June. :D I'll be going away for the month, with only weekends home. So I'll try to use that time to develop plot AND write in brief periods and such.

Also! Thanks for reviewing, and everything! If I haven't replied, please don't feel insulted. D: I really do appreciate the feedback I've been getting. I'll do my best to reply, if possible.

With no further ado, enjoy!

(P.S A good reader doesn't hesitate to smack the author over the head for bad editing! :D Words of advice from yours truly, at least when it applies to me. Orz.)

* * *

Chapter Two

"I can't believe we're stuck doing such a stupid project." Takane groaned, her voice muffled by the desk. She was keen on hiding her face, especially seeing as of that the oh so great teenaged detective was currently standing right beside her desk.

Shintaro looked close to a hernia. If the situation wasn't so stressing, Takane would have laughed and probably snap a picture to be saved in a folder called 'Shintaro's Embarrasing Moments'.

Ayano laughed, tugging at her scarf in a nonchalant way. It was habit, Takane guessed, as she sat up grudgingly. "But it sounds so fun! And plus, don't you like shooting, Takane?" The question made Takane sigh, and Shintaro huffed. It might have been a laugh, but he was too busy scribbling away in his notebook for Takane to get a good guess.

"Not a real shooting range...," Takane retorted, and proceeded to send the glare at the person most responsible for this turn of events. Haruka only smiled at her glare, and fiddled with the sketchbook in his hands.

This, _this_, was the famous teenaged detective who went by the pen name 'Konoha'?

Takane was sure she did something so horrible in her past life to result in this type of scenario. She scowled harder at him, before returning to trying to take a nap in the noisy classroom. It helped that their peers stopped asking questions and muddled off in their own little groups.

But she was damn sure that they were taking pictures of Haruka behind his back, and Takane did _not_ need that sort of publicity because of how close he was standing to her.

"Sorry, Takane," Haruka smiled. Takane didn't even need to glance up to know that he was smiling. "I didn't know my opinion mattered so much in choosing a project for the school festival."

How dense could this idiot be? Of course his opinion would matter considering he is 'Konoha'.

After Mrs. Tateyama returned and Shintaro repeatedly _shoving_ his foot onto hers to keep her mouth shut, she had announced that the school festival was coming up and had little to a month to come up with a project and finish it; and then to present it to the whole school for the festival.

Haruka was, unsurprisingly, the first one Mrs. Tateyama asked if he had any ideas on what to do for the school festival. He had shyly suggested a shooting range, and the whole class -excluding Shintaro and Takane- all but jumped on the idea.

Now Haruka and Ayano, who volunteered -who would've guessed? _Not_ Takane-, were in charge of the project and guess who was going to be dragged up front with them? Ayano's unlucky friends of the day, Shintaro and Takane!

Honestly, just _what_ did Takane do in her past life to result in this?

"Hmph." Takane sat back up to give a proper glare at Haruka. "Whatever, now do you two have any idea how to do this project? Like, properly?" Because there had to be some sort of structure into doing this; it wasn't wise to jump to conclusions and just do things wildly.

Trust Takane; she had her fair share of impulsive affairs.

"Oh, er...," Ayano looked stumped. "Hm...I was just guessing we just need to build the shooting range and...that's that?" She let out a sheepish laugh, and Shintaro stopped his seemingly mindless scribbling to send her a look. A look that crossed between, in Takane's mind, irritation and a certain fondness Shintaro could only muster.

Nonetheless, he looked like he always did. Asshole-ish.

"I guess it isn't that simple, is it?" Haruka mused, still fidling with the sketchbook. Takane wanted to snap at him to stop it, but of course Shintaro was the one to step in.

"No." Shintaro spoke up, the first time after learning about this project and Ayano dragging Haruka over to introduce him to her two best friends. "Nothing is that simple. Lucky for you, I had prepared the general plot for this." He pointed to the journal and Takane leaned over slightly to peer at it.

What seemed like various scribbles was actually notes and a 'to-do' list. How Shintaro could do all this in such a short period of time, Takane didn't know. In the end, she made a face at it -Shintaro returned it via sneer- and leaned back in her seat. The notes still looked like mindless scribbles to Takane, for all she cared.

"Ah, so cool!" Ayano was also peering at the notes. Takane had a feeling she didn't have a clue about the notes like Takane did, but was exclaiming at all the 'awesome' that was Shintaro, apparently.

Apparently. Ayano liked Shintaro in a way that Takane could never understand. Shintaro cared for her in a way Takane could never understand. In the end, Shintaro summed up that Takane didn't understand a lot of things. Takane agreed, but if there was one that that she couldn't understand more than anything, it was Ayano and Shintaro.

She would get a headache if she thought too much on it, so she returned her attention back to Haruka, who was now talking.

"Hm, so we need to get wood, and shooting rifles...," Haruka looked thoughtful. "I think I have a friend who owes me a favor, so we don't need to worry about the shooting rifles right now!" He said, happy with his statement.

Takane felt her eye twitch.

Goddammit, what the hell _is _Haruka Kokonose?

…

"What the _hell_ are you drawing, Kokonose?" Takane narrowed her eyes at the sketchbook, and Haruka glanced up momentarily at her. He grinned, and Takane wanted to throw her lunch at him. Shintaro _gently_ shoved his elbow into her side to remind her that that was _not_ the wise thing to do.

"I'm drawing you, Takane!" Came the simple reply.

God, this whole day was just full of twists and turns and headaches. She felt her eyebrow quirk. "Why?" She asked, bluntly. Takane shoved more food into her mouth to keep her from saying more.

"Because." Haruka hummed, and peered down at his drawing in an almost admiring way. God, this was getting stalker-y fast. Takane sneered at him over a mouthful of food, but refused to say anything. What could she even _say_ to that?

"You can draw?" Ayano interjected, staring at the drawing in awe. "I can barely draw a straight line! That looks just like Takane, it's amazing!" She praised, eyes still flickering between the drawing and Takane herself. Shintaro let out another huff of a laugh that ended with a pained grunt, thanks to Takane perfectly aimed kick to his shin.

Haruka looked pleased, if somewhat embarrassed. Takane scowled deepened. "Thank you, Ayano." He said. His eyes didn't lose that pleased looked. "I'm sure you could draw if you practiced enough."

"Oh, no." Ayano replied, and Takane tried to imagine this awkward and clumsy hero trying to an artist, with paint and all that. She tried to stifle her smile into her food. "Oh, no, no, no. I'd probably find a way to set fire to the world if I somehow managed to draw!"

Well, in her defense, setting fire to the world _could_ be considered a form of art to a select few. Takane wasn't one of them, but she met a few people online who talked a lot of smack. So yeah, setting fire to the world could be considered art.

Not that she was going to say this to the group thing they had on top of the roof here.

"I don't think you can be _that_ bad." Haruka assured. "Takes a lot of practice, though."

Ayano suddenly looked excited at the prospect of being able to draw. So excited, that she knocked over her soda and spilled it over Shintaro and Takane was laughing.

"What the _hell_, Ayano?" Shintaro yelled, rubbing desperately at his pants as if to dry it quicker. Haruka helped, somewhat, by aiding him with napkins. Ayano looked sheepish and ashamed, and she was smiling apologetically at Shintaro.

"Sorry, Shintaro," Ayano apologized. "I- I didn't mean for that to happen."

"D—don't...," Takane said, breathless and grinning. Her stomach hurt from laughing. "No need to apologize, Ayano, I'm sure Shintaro is secretly _pleased_ at having soda spilled on him." Shintaro's dark glare swung over to her. She smiled, almost pityingly. Almost. "After all, your bloodstream is practically soda anyways; I'm sure you're getting off on this like the sick pervert you are."

Shintaro scowled. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He muttered, gruffly, and glanced down at his pants. Haruka smiled timidly, and Ayano still looked fretting. "I'm going to go get more napkins and another...nevermind." With another pointed glance at Takane, he left, shoulders hunched.

"Good luck, and good riddance!" Takane called out after him, still smilingly happily.

Ayano wrung her hands and smiled at Takane. "I think I should follow him; it's my fault that he's wet anyways." She nodded at both Takane and Haruka. "I'll see you in class, right?" Takane waved her off, eager to send her away to be the hero Shintaro sorely needed.

It wasn't until that the door closed with a soft creak that the reality hit her hard.

Takane, aka '_Headphone Actor', _was stuck on a roof with Haruka, aka _'Konoha'. _Alone.

Shintaro was right. Takane did _not_ make smart moves.

After a few moments of painstaking silence, and the _scratch-scratch_ of Haruka's pencil, he glanced up and Takane eyed him.

"So, Takane," Haruka smiled, serenely. "Do you have any hobbies that you like to do?"

_Yeah_, Takane thought glumly, _I like to steal things. How 'bout you?_

Instead, she said. "I like video games." It was blunt, and simple. Honestly, the shooting game she played was the only thing she really felt good at it. Everything else was too tiring and boring and annoying for her to handle.

"Really? What do you play?"

"None of your business, that's what." Takane grumbled, and Haruka blinked. "Not that you'd know anything about it, but it's called Dead Bullet 1989." She sniffed, glancing at her shoes. "But like I said, not like you'd know anything about it considering you probably don't have time for shooting games, right?"

Haruka laughed, and glanced skyward. He seemed thoughtful. "No, I don't really have time for games like that." He sent her a wry smile. "But I would like to, though! It seems fun. Ah, I only really have time for drawing and solving cases."

"What _is_ it like, you know, being a detective and all that?" Takane mused.

"...It's fun." Haruka said, after a bit of quiet. Takane wanted to facepalm; he'd probably answered this question a _million_ times already and Takane just asked it dumbly. "But..." He added, almost as an afterthought. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't a detective."

Takane just stared at him, and he refused to look at her, staring thoughtfully at his sketchbook. It occurred to him that she hadn't spoken in a bit, Takane guessed, as he suddenly seemed to shake himself out of his revere and smile happily at Takane.

"Not that it isn't fun or anything; but it'd be nice to be normal for once." Haruka continued. "Oh well." He closed his sketchbook and stood up, giving a slow stretch. He was really tall and Takane continued to stare at him until he asked. "Ready to go in?"

Takane scowled at him, deciding that no matter how much sympathy this boy could scrape from her, she'll always get annoyed at that gentle smile of his. Not that he could scrape much sympathy from her; she had bigger things to worry about.

Such as not getting caught by this boy.

…

"Well...,"

"..."

"..."

Shintaro glanced to the side, both of them located on Takane's porch. She offered to let him stay for a bit, but he insisted that he needed to drop off the calling card before heading home. Apparently he needed to babysit his little sister for his mom.

"Good luck tonight, by the way." Shintaro said, yawning. "You're gonna need it, from what I hear." Takane made a face, remembering Haruka.

No doubt he was going to be there.

"Whatever. I don't need luck." Takane replied, angrily. She needed money and nothing was going to stop that. Shintaro huffed, looking offended at her response but that was just how Takane was. He realized this a long time ago.

"Are you sure you want me to send the calling card in today, though?" Shintaro mused. "It's cutting it a bit close, don't you think?" Takane inched closer and closer behind her door, ready to slam it into Shintaro's face and be done for the school day.

But she had to admit, it _was_ cutting it a bit close. Sending a calling card on the day of another heist? Especially after the new addition of Haruka...But the jewel that was destined to be Takane's, if only for awhile, was worth _a lot_ and Takane _needed_ it.

Her grandpa _needed_ it.

So, yeah, as close as it was, Takane wasn't backing down. She told Shintaro this, and he sighed, resigned.

"Yeah, yeah." Shintaro said. "On that note, I'll be off." He turned and gave a wave, before walking down the street. Takane stared at his disappearing back before scowling and shutting the door with a slam. Leaving her bag beside the door, along with her shoes, she grabbed something to eat before heading to her room.

She wanted to take a nap before tonight, as brief as it would be, she needed the sleep from what the stress had did to her today. It felt as if Takane hadn't slept for ages.

Sitting down on her bed, Takane ate the bland sandwich bitterly. She spared a glance at her laptop, wondering if it was worth the less hour of sleep or not. Deciding that it was not worth it, for tonight at least, she turned her attention back to something that seemed to weigh heavy in the room.

Rubbing her hands on her shirt, getting the crumbs off, she picked up the piece of paper carefully, moving it in her hands gently. Picking at it, she thought about the events of the day. Haruka was definitely apart of her thoughts.

Actually, he was the one causing all the stress. She glared, imagining him wilting under her glare. Takane sighed, and remembered it was pointless. Sure, sure, Haruka is here, and will possibly catch her and sentence Takane to a few years in prison and no doubt her grandpa would die-

No. Takane would not allow that. No matter what happened, she would not stop until grandpa would get the surgery he needed, that's for damn sure.

Takane sighed again, and glanced at the newspaper clipping that inspired the previous call card that Shintaro and her made the previous week. The jewel was bright and red, and was smack dub in the eye of a snake statue. It was called the "Medusa's Jewel" and seemed to be worth a lot.

She stared at the picture for a bit, before tossing it to the side and burying her head into her pillow.

That jewel and her had a date with fate that night. And Takane will be damned if she'll let anyone get in the way of that.

* * *

Like this chapter? Why not review, favorite, or follow?

Or throw scalding hot coffee on the author?

Trust me, both will be greatly appreciated!

-AJ

:D


	4. Chapter 3

**Title:** Catch you, Catch me! Chapter 3

_This chapter ain't edited in the **least.**_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own nothin', man.

**Warnings:** None this chapter.

**Pairings:** Haruka K./ Takane E. Hinted Shintaro K./ Ayano T.

**Summary:** It was cool that Takane was just a boring high school student during the day, and the notorious thief 'Headphone Actor' at night. It was all cool until the person who was in charge of capturing her transfers into her class, and then it wasn't cool anymore. Harutaka AU.

**A/N:** After a whole month, I finally updated. I'm TRASH. DON'T LISTEN TO MY LIES, LIKE OMG. I'M SO BAD AT UPDATING I'M SO SORRY OMG OMG OMG. LIKE. OMG. Agh, agh, agh, trash, trash, trash-!

Orz -goes to sit in the trashcan-

Sorry, I haven't replied to hardly any of the new reviews on the last chapter. It wasn't that I didn't see them -oh, I seen them-, it was just that I was too ashamed to reply. So I hope this chapter will help make up for it!

On this chapter, you don't have _any_ idea how many times I re-wrote this. I just kept deleting, and rewriting. Deleting and rewriting. It was horrible. Now it's almost three in the morning and decided to start from scratch and. And. And- -sobs-

So, hopeful this chapter will signal the end of my writers block.

Sorry again for the wait! Enjoy!

(**P.S** This whole thing was inspired by waiting for my favorite stories to _update_. I was like, man, authors have it hard I get that. I just wish they upda- oh, wait. _Shit_. Ah. But this fandom is running it's course for me, so I'm slowly losing interest. Don't get me wrong, I love Kagepro. It's characters are cool and sweet. Just. Losing interest. I'll try to finish this story though, so no worries.)

8/7/14-8/7/14

* * *

This was so stupid. This was so stupid. Stupider than the time Shintaro's little sister walked in on Shintaro and Takane getting into an argument over a _peach_. How did that happen? Long story, don't ask.

Well, the night was going pretty smooth. Getting into the museum was easy enough. Finding the huge and dark room with the Medusa's Jewel was also easy. Of course, just when she managed to take the damn thing out of it's case -okay, she admits, she was a bit careless.-, did things start going downhill for her.

"You know, stealing really isn't a good trait." A voice called out from behind her. A cheerful, idiotic voice that made Takane tense as if someone had a knife to her spine.

Well, technically, it was like that; in a sense.

Takane turned around slowly, staring at Haruka who emerged from the shadows like some evil mastermind. Though in this sense, technically, _she_ was the one who was supposedly the evil mastermind in this whole plot.

She begged to differ.

Staring at each other for a few contemplative, and tense, moments, Haruka spoke again. "I really do think it's a bit depressing that you are doing this, you know. Would you mind telling me why, because you have to have a reason, right?"

As if she'd ever tell _him_. Haruka still looked as calm as ever, still dressed all casual as if he wasn't afraid of her. Takane was glad, a small amount, that he _wasn't_ scared of her; though most of her screamed that she wanted him to be afraid because that would make this whole thing so much easier.

In the end, after a few moments of silence that was turning a bit awkward, she settled for a firm glare. Her voice was muffled by the mask, thankfully, so she didn't worry all that much.

"Why are you doing this?" Takane huffed, putting the Jewel in her pocket carefully. Haruka's eyes were trained on her hands, as if she had a superpower to turn her hands into guns and use them dangerously. _As if_.

"Huh?"

"...You're an idiot." Takane snapped, frustrated at his stupidity.

Haruka looked confused. "Huh? Oh, _oh,_" Sudden realization lit up his face. Stupidly. "I see. Why am I talking to you?"

"Didn't I just ask that?" Takane snapped back angrily. She sighed. "As much as I would love to _stay_ and chat with you, _Konoha_. I really got to go." With that, she slowly backed away, eyes darting around nervously.

The room was large, really large. Too large, really, to just have a _one_ diamond. It really hit Takane hard in the gut when she realized that this just _might_ be a trap. Okay, no, really, it might _really_ be a trap. She let out an annoyed hiss, realizing that Haruka was now only smiling sadly at her.

Yeah. Shintaro was totally not going to let her live this down in the _least_.

"I apologize as well, Actor." Haruka sighed, and pulled something from his pocket. It was a walkie talkie. God, that was so cliche that Takane could only stare at him as he spoke into it. "Send in reinforcements."

…

That should be her cue to get the hell _out _of there, wasn't it?

As she suddenly heard what sounded like a stampede of, no doubt, police officers heading towards their direction; she decided yeah, that was probably the signal to start running. With one last pointed glare at Konoha, she ran towards the back of the room.

Shintaro had her pour over the plans of this whole building. Not that she remembered much, but she at least knew that there was a hallway leading from the room into what she hoped was the back exit of the building.

Of course, there was always the possibility of reinforcements being located there. Knowing her luck, she should have known as she ducked into an empty room as policemen rushed past. Takane cursed, and glanced around the dark room and groaned.

Of course she couldn't see a fucking thing.

"Well, one for all and all for one," Takane muttered unhappily. Praying to whatever god that would be willing to listen to a thief, she reopened the door to the hallway and just ran. Luckily most of the rush had ran past the unsuspecting room -Didn't they watch movies? Oh well. Their lack of being updated with movies were saving her at the moment.-.

Still didn't mean that she didn't just blatantly shove one officer into a wall as she dashed past. He let out a loud grunt, louder than Shintaro when he is out of soda -Sadly, that was possible. It wasn't pleasant for anyone present-.

Closing her eyes, Takane just fucking _ran_.

…..

"Wow, you look terrible. "

"Ugh. Go away."

"Get up, we've got school."

Shintaro was standing over Takane, glaring down at her messy bed. Under a sprawl of blankets and pillows, Takane's head just barely poked out from beneath all the mess. Then again, Shintaro can hardly talk, if Takane remembered his room correctly, he can be a bit of a pig himself.

Who was she kidding? This was Shintaro she was thinking about. Of course, he's full pig.

Though that was an insult to the pigs.

"You need medication," Takane groaned, finally sitting up and rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. "How can you get up so early in the mornings? Like, wow. I would think that you'd stay up all night doing dirty things."

"Hmph, _you're_ telling me that _I_ do dirty things all night?" Shintaro smirked, and nodded towards the nightstand. Inside, Takane stared at the nightstand a bit jaded, was the Medusa's Jewel. The one fucking Jewel that almost made her get caught and forced her to undergo a stupid talk with 'Konoha'. "This is the pot calling the kettle black here."

"Oh, shut up. And get out of my room, I need to change. Hey, while you're so up and ready for the day, get me something to eat, will ya?"

Both of them shared a glare as Shintaro sauntered out of the room. Takane snorted and peeled herself away from the bed. Still tired, she clumsily got ready for school.

She was secretly glad when Shintaro more or less shoved a piece of toast in her direction when she finally went downstairs. Nibbling on it, both of them exited her home and were on their way to school.

"Anything happen last night that I need to know about?" Shintaro asked, yawning. Takane gave a small shrug, because she almost got caught, yeah; in the end, though, she was still here and free. "Nothing, huh? Well, let's wait a bit before another deal. Got it?"

"Whatever." Takane grunted. "I'm up to wait for a bit."

Last night, she turned in around two o'clock, in the morning. Her grandmother wasn't around, which was thankful for, as she finally staggered inside her home. Not even risking turning on the lights, she made her way upstairs; her body ached with lack of oxygen. Pulling out the Medusa's's Jewel, and staring at it for a few heated moments, shoved it into her nightstand.

A bad feeling had crawled across her skin as she got ready for bed and hid her stupid outfit, though she ignored it in favor of sleep.

Now that she was awake, sort of, a tugging presence made itself known in the back of her mind. Takane was ready and willing to shrug it off as paranoia, but she _watched_ movies like a normal person should and wasn't ready to take the chance.

Normally, when people felt this, they were either dead wrong or really right. When they say that nothing is wrong, something usually _is._

Then again, this could be her giving into her paranoia.

"Hey, Shintaro," Takane said seriously. Shintaro glanced at her, from in the middle of taking a huge drink from his soda. -Honestly, he takes like ten minutes of their time to get that fucking thing from the stupid vending machine; it was ridiculous.- "Can you look up something for me?"

"What, like usual?" Shintaro replied, critically. "I'm not your walking dictionary-Wikipedia-whatever, you know? You have your own computer at your house, don't you? I'm sure it won't take what's little of your braincells left to Google something up."

"Okay, listen here you little shi-" Takane started off heatedly, much to Shintaro's amusement. She quieted, as school came into sight. "It's about the Jewel. Do a friend a favor, will you? We've known each other for a long time, haven't we?"

"And it feels longer with each passing day," Shintaro commented vaguely. He sighed. "Fine, fine; I'll look into it. Now shut up about it, Ayano texted me last night saying that today was the day we're all are going to _work, work, work!_. "

"...I honestly feel as if I worked enough." Takane said, both of them pausing at the gates to look up at the school mournfully. Shintaro nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"Me too, me too,"

"...Bastard, you don't even work."

"Details, details. Let's go, we look stupid just standing here."

"You're the one who fucking stopp-"

"Whatever."

God, on days like this, Takane was painfully reminded that she was friends with an _asshole_.

….

A few weeks had passed with relative ease. If Haruka was frustrated with the supposedly 'no-leads' investigation, he didn't show it. In fact, he seemed to be relishing the more time he had for school here. Ayano and Shintaro were diligently working together on the shooting range, with Haruka and Takane popping in and appearing helpful.

"What should be used for targets?" Ayano mused, tapping her pencil on her paper. Haruka looked up, interested. Of course, Takane narrowed her eyes at him. Of course he would be because it was all decided that he should be the one to draw the targets.

"I have, er, an idea!" Haruka pipped up. Shintaro and Takane shared a look, a moment that happened a lot thanks to working with Ayano and Haruka. Ayano looked curiously at Haruka, smiling encouragingly.

"Well?" Takane huffed, as Haruka, embarrassed, looked around the small group. "We don't got all day."

"Oh, yeah," Haruka laughed. "I want to do a theme with Headphone Actor and Konoha."

Shintaro spat out his soda all over their work. Takane didn't even mind that some of his spit tainted soda got onto her -she wasn't going to forget it, though-, though she subconsciously gave a hard punch into his shoulder. He grunted.

"Ouch!" Shintaro snapped. "What the hell?"

"Your face is what the hell!" Takane replied angrily, too baffled to really react to Haruka's idea. It was easier to get angry at Shintaro instead.

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Your face doesn't make sense!"

"Guys, guys," Ayano held up her hands, pleading with her hands and eyes. "Mom told me that you guys were causing so much trouble that it disturbed the class. You guys were getting along so well, too." She sighed disappointingly.

Shintaro and Takane glared away from each other, a bit ashamed.

"...You didn't like my idea?" Haruka asked, quietly. He looked so heartbroken that Takane could only make a face at his, unable to really interfering emotions welling up inside her. On one hand, she felt a bit of pity for him. On the _other_ hand, his idea was _really_ stupid to her.

"No, no," Ayano shook her head. "I'm sure they loved it! I know I did. It's a great idea, isn't it, guys?" She gave Shintaro and Takane a pointed look, and Takane swallowed dryly. If she remembered correctly, Ayano was pretty scary when she was angry.

One does not just make Ayano angry without regrets.

"Y-yeah," Shintaro stammered out, awkwardly. He tried to offer a smile, which made him look strained and even more awkward. Takane nodded along eagerly, not really liking the glint in Ayano's eyes. Instead, she focused on Haruka's hopeful face.

"...I like it." Takane muttered. Those three words made Haruka light up like fireworks, and he smiled happily.

"Ah, then I'm glad!"

Takane irritatedly looked away.

For the past few weeks, Takane was growing more and more tired. The paranoia from the first day seemingly didn't get better, but it didn't get worse so that was a start. It was an itch she couldn't scratch, and Shintaro was starting to notice.

And when Shintaro starts noticing, it was time to for Takane to up her game.

He began to research harder on the Medusa's Jewel, but he had annoying told her that it was hard work. Shintaro looked as annoyed as Takane, when he told her that he really couldn't find _anything_ on the Jewel other than it's recent up to date regulations.

Shintaro told her not to worry yet, and that they'll take it easy for awhile. The money for her grandpa should pay _for now_, so Takane broodingly agreed.

Now a days, her main concern was this damn shooting range. She'll let Shintaro worry about all the technicalities, she was just...the persona stealing everything. Takane shot Shintaro a glance, seeing him boringly scribbling down more ideas into his notebook.

Sometimes she wondered what he thought he'd get out of this. Maybe he was bored.

Yeah, seems pretty likely.

"Takane?" Haruka poked her cheek. "Takane? Takane? Ta _-poke-_ Ka _-poke-_ Ne _-poke-_-!"

"What?" Takane snapped angrily, brushing his hand away. "What do you want?"

"You seemed a bit distracted and I was calling your name for the last five minutes," Haruka acted as if Takane wasn't so snappish with him. Of course, she always acted like this, so he was probably used to her. She raised an eyebrow, questioningly. "I wanted to see if you wanted to help more with this stand?"

"What? Aren't I helping enough?"

"Tch. Hardly."

Takane ignored Shintaro's jab. Though her eye twitched.

"...Sure, sure," Takane mumbled angrily. She'll show Shintaro that she could _so _help more. "Just tell me what it is already."

Haruka looked pleased. "I was wondering if you would dress up as Headphone Actor and I could dress up as Konoha! Wouldn't that be neat?"

For the second time that class period, Shintaro spat out his soda.

Takane only stared horrified at Haruka.

….

"I can't believe you," Shintaro said, in awe and shock. Takane was in his room, and was currently pacing back and forth in front of him while he sat on his bed. "I can't believe you agreed to such a stupid idea. I knew you were stupid yourself, but to agree to _this."_

"I know, I know!" Takane cried unhappily. "Don't rub it in!"

"It seems like I have to!" Shintaro snapped back. "When will you get it through your thick head that this is a stupid idea! It's a great idea if you _want_ to get caught! Do you want to get caught? It so stupid, really! How can one be stupid!"

"Oh, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up-!" Takane chanted, stomping her feet in irritation. "Shut up will you?"

Both of them stared at each other, both of them breathing heavily. Shintaro groaned and fell back, tossing an arm over his eyes. His let out a sigh through his nose, before speaking. "...You do know that this is stupid, right?"

"It's been said, yes." Like a million times. Takane fell onto the bed beside Shintaro, mimicking his posture.

"...You're still going to do it, aren't you?"

"...I'm stupid, so you say."

"And I'm right."

"...Didn't you call me here for a reason?"

"Oh yeah." Shintaro sat up and reached for his laptop. "After some long hard weeks of researching that stupid Jewel, I found something. Though, if it's what you wanted, I don't know." He typed some things onto his laptop, before scrolling a bit and nodding satisfied.

He shoved it towards Takane, before getting up and leaving. Presumably to get them some soda.

Takane eyes roved over the article, raising her eyebrows almost to her hairline. It was a report submitted to some no-name merchants log, and it made Takane set on edge.

Apparently, the last known owner of the Jewel went by the name Azami. Her husband had given her the Jewel as a gift of their love, before mysteriously dying and leaving Azami and their child alone. Azami disappeared mysteriously a few years later, leaving the girl -Shion- alone with the Jewel. It was sold to merchants in order to help her family out.

Other than that, the trail ran cold.

Well, it sure was mysterious. It wasn't what she had hoped, but something was up. Takane gnawed on her lip nervously, wondering if she was over thinking things. She remembered the Jewel in her dresser, and briefly pondered _why_ she kept it for so long.

Maybe she was a masochist for wanting to keep this Jewel around for a little longer.

Shintaro came back to the room, three sodas in his possession. "One for you, two for me." He explained when he saw Takane's appalled glance. "Was that what you were looking for?" Shintaro ignored it and sat down next to Takane, peering at the web page over her shoulder.

"You're sick," Takane commented blandly. "and yes, thank you."

"Oh," Shintaro raised an eyebrow as he smirked. "Am I graced with the honor of a thank you from you, _Takane_?" He mocked a fake gasp, and shook his head disgracefully. "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy, really~"

"Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again." Takane emphasized this with a glower. "And...really, t-t-_thanks._"

It physically pained her to say thank him.

Both of them stared at each other, the atmosphere turning tense and awkward. Takane wanted to thank him, really, for everything he's done and how much shit he was willing to put up with all her crap. Even though she put him through so much.

Their situation proving that to the extreme.

"...Yeah, okay," Shintaro coughed awkwardly, pointedly looking away. "Let's not get weird, okay? We have...a thing going on here. Let's not ruin it, please?"

"Agreed." Takane nodded eagerly.

Both of them shared a tense smile, before Takane more or less decided to look up his history to see if he was searching up dirty sites. He started yelling at her, the weird and awkward warm moment they shared was long gone, and Takane snickered at his heated argument of how personal privacy was _important._

Opening her soda, Takane could only roll her eyes at Shintaro who was clutching the laptop to his chest protectively.

_What an idiot._

* * *

Wanna review, favorite, or something?

Well, I doN'T DESERVE ANYTHING SO DON'T FEEL PRESSURED OR ANYTHING.

SOB.

:'D

-AJ


	5. Chapter 4

**Title:** Catch you, Catch me! Chapter 4

_This chapter isn't edited. At all._

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Warnings: ** None this chapter.

**Pairings:** Haruka K. / Takane E. Hinted Shintaro K. / Ayano T.

**Summary:** It was cool that Takane was just a boring high school student during the day, and the notorious thief 'Headphone Actor' at night. It was all cool until the person who was in charge of capturing her transfers into her class, and then it wasn't cool anymore. Harutaka AU.

**A/N:** And a month later, here it is.

I'm literally so tired from school, so, so, so tired.

I have no words for this chapter other than that I hope it meets people's expectations. -nods-

And that people enjoy it.

So, enjoy!

(P.S: Sorry for not replying to every message, ect. ORZ. I hope you can understand, I really do. I'll try to reply to every message and/or review I receive but sometimes I'm just a forgetful human.)

8/20/14-9/21/14

* * *

"This is stupid. I feel stupid."

"Well, considering you _are_ stupid," Shintaro muttered, as he adjusted one of the straps on Takane's outfit. "So no surprise there."

Takane bit back a remark, remembering that Shintaro was actually here on his own free _will_ and that this should not be taken for granted. She did nothing to tell him that the edge of her bed was behind him as stepped back.

"Oh, there was a bed there," Takane muttered dryly, smirking in satisfaction as he fell.

"Really? Didn't notice," Shintaro snapped, hurriedly getting up and brushing himself off. "Look in the mirror; I did your outfit in such a way that _he_ shouldn't recognize you. Probably. Maybe."

Gee. What a reassurance.

Takane sighed and turned around to face the mirror that he grandma gave to her, seemingly forever ago, and blinked. And blinked again. What the-... Takane looked at Shintaro for confirmation and he nodded smugly, arms crossed, as if he was the mastermind of all high and mighty disguises.

There was an issue that Takane wanted to address, first, "My hair. It's blue."

"It is," Shintaro said, nodding. "I brought it off of E-Bay for five dollars."

"...This is...the worst moment in my life," Takane admitted, slowly. Her eyes were glued on the mirror and she couldn't even fathom the words to describe her disgust and horror at her outfit. "Like, _seriously_. More worse than the time I found your secret folder on your computer about those _legs_-"

"Shut up," Shintaro ground out, quickly interrupting Takane. His ears were red. "I made this outfit specifically for you to look _horrible _in it. If you look so horrible, then maybe, just maybe, he won't get suspicious. If he does, then it won't be _much_."

"I look horrible!" Takane bemoaned, flopping herself on her bed, unable to look at herself any longer. "More horrible than when you were forced to wear my uniform because someone replaced your uniform with mine- Ugh, it was a pain burning that, too," she groaned, slightly grimacing at the memories.

She was still pissed at whoever did it.

But, that wasn't the case here.

The case was that Takane looked utterly _horrible_ in the outfit. On a subconscious level, she realized that Shintaro was right and that she should be grateful at being in such a state and that Shintaro actually took the time to think this out.

But, dammit, the world had taken many things from her. It will not take her pride.

"Hey, be careful of the jacket," Shintaro sounded offended. "I worked hard on sewing that."

"...You're really pathetic," Takane mumbled into her bedspread. "Really, really, really pathetic."

There was no reply, and Takane briefly wondered if she did somehow manage to offend Shintaro. When she slowly got up to see if he was crying in the corner or something -she wouldn't put it past him; after all, it _was_ Shintaro- Takane realized that Shintaro had his phone out.

Taking pictures.

Of her.

"What?" Shintaro grinned that smug grin that made Takane's blood boil. "These pictures could come in handy someday."

Come in handy someday her ass, Takane thought bitterly, as she threw her poorly made gas mask at Shintaro hard enough to hear a satisfying _thunk_.

…..

"Takane, look at my outfit! Shintaro helped me out as well," Haruka announced proudly, both of them standing in the front of the empty classroom. Takane barely had any time to finish changing when Haruka just barged in, with his own outfit and grinning stupidly.

"Idiot," Takane snapped, embarrassed at almost getting caught in the middle of changing. She quickly adjusted the wig, and frowned at him. "Don't just barge in without permission, it's impolite."

Haruka only nodded absently, still presenting himself in front of Takane.

Takane sighed, and surveyed the boy in front of her grudgingly.

She had to admit, Shintaro could have a future in designing clothing. Though, only if, the clothing was aimed at die-hard anime/manga fans with the taste for complex looking clothes that looked great in 2d but tacky in 3d. The only thing Takane really noticed was that Haruka was also wearing a wig, a white one, and it didn't help his complexion at all.

"Don't I look cool?" Haruka asked, grinning happily.

"Er, depends on your definition of _cool_," Takane muttered, not really wanting to get into such a conversation. Especially with _Haruka_. "But...I guess it's alright. Even if Shintaro had some helping with it."

Haruka hummed happily. "He is very talented, and super cool, right?" He asked, and Takane made a mental note to teach Haruka of how very much Shintaro was _not_ cool. "You hang out with him a lot, so he must be cool."

"Hmph," Takane shook some of the blue bangs out of her eyes, annoyed. "There are many words that I could use to describe Shintaro; cool isn't one of them."

"I take offense to that," speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Takane tilted herself slightly to peer at Shintaro as he strode in with Ayano into the classroom. Both of them held art supplies in their arms and Takane's eyes zeroed in on the six pack of soda that Shintaro managed to hold perfectly despite struggling with everything else.

"The art supply store was about to close, so we had to hurry," Ayano grinned. "It was a bit of a rush, and we might have forgot somethings," Shintaro snorted at that, setting his things down on a nearby desk. "but I'm sure we got the most of it!"

"Thanks for going," Haruka said sincerely. "I really appreciate it. I would have gone myself, but I don't have much free time for this," he laughed, sheepishly. "The case is going nowhere and everyone is getting jittery."

Takane huffed, narrowing her eyes at him.

Haruka was showing signs of sleep deprivation, and despite being generally happy at being at school; he seemed really tired. Dark shadows made his sickly complexion all the more horrible, his usually cheerful attitude was tinged with tiredness.

There is no rest for the weary, Takane supposed, as she caught Haruka's eyes. He sent her an impish grin.

"It's no problem," Shintaro shrugged, handing everyone a soda. He quickly opened his own and took a long deep swallow. Sighing in relief, he stared at the soda in his hands with awe. "I always love that."

"You're a sick man, Shintaro, a sick man," Takane followed his lead, and closed her eyes at the fizz that burned her throat. "Ngh. How can you just down it like that? It _burns_," she coughed, trying not to choke on the sudden burn.

Shintaro snickered. "Years of practice, years and years of practice."

"Are these the outfits you designed for them, Shintaro?" Ayano inquired quickly, to help detour an upcoming bout of Shintaro and Takane commentary. Takane sent her a grateful look, which quickly turned embarrassed to see Ayano examining her intently. "Hmmm."

Haruka instantly lit up at the thought of showing off his outfit. "Aren't they cool?"

"..." Ayano walked around both Takane and Haruka critically, lips pursed in thought. "I like them!" She announced, finally pulling back to grin at both of them. "You two look so cool! Like superheroes!" Pointing to her scarf, as if to emphasize the word superheroes, Ayano grinned encouragingly at them.

Takane sometimes forgot her weird admiration for heroes and smiled, a bit uncomfortable.

"A hero?" Haurka looked dreamy. "I like being a hero, then."

"Hm," Ayano narrowed her eyes at Takane then. "I don't think Takane can be a hero, though."

"What? Why?" Takane frowned, instantly offended at the thought implication. Well, yeah, she looked utterly _stupid_ in her outfit. Still, it was an outfit that stretched the idea of _Actor's_ outfit.

Ayano smiled, reassuringly, "No doubt, you can be a hero, Takane," she nodded, "But you're playing Headphone Actor, right? Well, she's a thief. That means she can't be a hero. After all, she steals for a living; that's not very heroic."

Takane swallowed, dryly.

Not very heroic, huh? Well, Ayano really didn't know, now did she? Takane refused to look Ayano in the eyes, as Ayano continued on her rant of what was heroic and what was not. Shintaro looked like he was trying to intervene, before Haruka surprisingly spoke up.

"I think Actor is a hero, in her own right," Haruka admitted, still wistful from the thought of being a hero. At least, from what Takane assumed.

"Huh? How?" Ayano looked surprised. Takane tried not to feel smug and slightly horrified at the thought of _Haruka_ defending her alter ego. And slightly offended at the thought of one of her best friend's thinking her a villain.

Haruka shrugged, leaning against a desk as he sipped gingerly at his soda. Takane was painfully reminded that both he and she were still looking like a bad cosplay outfit made out of wood glue and duck tape.

Not that it _looked_ that way, but it _felt_ that way.

"One of my theories on Headphone Actor," Haruka started, eyes staring off into the distance as he tried to recall his so called theory. The fact that he had theories on _her_ made Takane make a face. "Is that she has a reason for stealing what she steals. Everyone has to have a motive, and I don't think her motive is something out of ill will."

"Really?" Ayano blinked. "Dad never tells me anything about the case other than that she steals and, er, causes the department a whole lot of trouble."

"I figured he wouldn't," Haruka laughed. "He doesn't really like Actor all that much."

"A-...What about you?" Shintaro asked, making Takane whip around to glare at him. He seemingly ignored her, staring at Haruka intently. "Do you like Actor?"

Takane gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes dangerously at Shintaro. He was so dead next time they had a moment _alone_.

She turned around to view Haruka's response.

"Me?" Haruka blinked, and smiled a bit sheepishly. He wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, as he laughed a bit awkwardly. "I, er, I...I like her, yeah." Takane felt strangely freaked out about this whole situation, as if she wasn't supposed to be _hearing_ this.

Shintaro looked the same way.

"I, uh, see."

"Is that weird?" Haruka asked worriedly, and Takane wanted to shout at him, that _yes_, it was _weird_. Weird and mildly disturbing; Takane tried to ignore the heat that was pooling to her face, and ears. Instead, she tried to focus on finishing her soda quickly, taking the burn proudly.

"...Nah, you're cool," Shintaro nodded. He tried to change the topic, much to Takane's relief. "So anyone want to go to that new ramen resturant? I heard there was a special tonight and it's just a few blocks away."

Ayano looked thoughtful and Haruka instantly dropped everything that wasn't concerning the thought of food.

Both Takane and Shintaro were painfully silent.

….

"I feel sorry for Shintaro, he had to pay for all of us," Haruka said, sadly.

Takane snorted, fixing her bag on her shoulder warily. "I'm not. He was the one who offered, anyways. I'm sure his wallet can handle it."

Luckily, both of them changed into their school uniforms before they went anywhere with _people_. Takane was sure to have nightmares about blue wigs and bad rip off costumes of her own costume for the rest of her life. Haruka seemed to not be affected by the seemingly _cool_ costumes, and seemed quite disappointed at having to take it off so soon.

Takane gladly didn't share his views.

"So you live this way?" Haruka glanced around in interest. "You live so close to the school...," he muttered, still taking in his surroundings. "It must be nice not having to take a train." Takane shrugged, not really thinking much about it.

"I don't care much for how I get to school, as long as I get there," Takane said. Her grandpa had to pull a lot of strings just to get her into the school she was going to now, that Takane didn't want to make him regret it. So, the least she could do, was not to be absent.

"I live almost all the way across town, I have to take the train almost everywhere," Haruka laughed. "It can be a bit tiring. But I get the chance to draw in those times, so I don't really dislike it."

"Hm," Takane squinted at him. "Sometimes I forget you draw."

"Eh? How?" Haruka smiled, curiously.

Takane ignored how his attention was all on her, and tried to focus on getting closer and closer to her house. The more small talk she made, the faster this walk will end, and the faster Takane will pass out in her bed.

It was a plan that Takane wasn't going to fail.

"You just don't look...artsy." Takane vaguely gestured at him.

"How am I supposed to look 'artsty'?" Haruka sounded amused. "Am I supposed to be splattered in paint and charcoal smudges, while carrying an easel around everywhere?"

"I'd like to see you try and do that. It'll be amusing to watch, I guess." Takane mused, before sending him a glare. "But you don't look like anything, or anyone. You're just...you, I guess." She shrugged, and almost jumped for joy when she finally saw her house.

Haruka and Takane both stopped awkwardly on her porch, though Haruka seemed blind to the awkwardness.

"Your house seems homey," Haruka commented, probably think it was a compliment. Takane raised an eyebrow at him, trying to remember Shintaro's _tips_ of the week on how to deal with a nosy high school detective who literally could find her out any second and send her to jail.

He mentioned _play along_ very much.

"Er, yeah!" Takane scratched the back of her, ears burning red as she shot her house a quick glance. "My house seems...homey. Like, my home, you know?" God, this was embarrassing. Takane better nip this in the bud before it spiraled out of her control. "Look, I'm, er, tired-..."

Takane wasn't known for her _amazing_ conversational skills.

Luckily, Haruka just gave her a grin and bid her goodnight.

Takane sighed in relief, watching Haruka disappear from sight before turning around and quickly unlocking her house and darting inside. Dropping her shoes near the doorway, and putting her stuff down, Takane realized her grandmother wasn't home.

Again.

Making herself comfortable, Takane wandered towards the kitchen to grab something to drink. A plate on the counter near the fridge caught her attention, and a note that was a pain to read in the dim lighting of the kitchen.

The note read:

Takane

I made you some sandwiches for dinner. They're your favorite, and I brought your favorite tea and put them in the refrigerator.

You're grandfather wishes to see you, and I hope you can find it in yourself to come visit him soon.

Love, your grandmother.

Takane crumpled the note and tossed it in the trash, frowning.

For the past month or two, Takane had been avoiding the hospital as much as she could. Yeah, it was a cowardly move, avoiding her grandfather like this. But she couldn't stand the thought of seeing him so sickly, so near _death_ that it was impossible to see him like it.

So, Takane decided to not visit him until he was on his road of recovery.

But in order to get that road started, she needed money. In order for her to get money, she needed to do her job as _Actor_. Even then, she had to deal with _Konoha_, and ponder the mystery that is the Medusa Jewel that felt creepy in her possession.

Takane groaned and decided to put off her thinking tomorrow. She needed to have a serious conversation with Shintaro, and _soon_, if her jittery anxiousness was anything to go by. Sending the sandwiches one last mournful glance, Takane took a bottle of tea out of the fridge and left for her room.

As she got ready for bed, combing her hair with her fingers. It was getting quite long and she would need a haircut soon, if the split ends told her anything. Laying down on the bed with a groan of satisfaction, Takane closed her eyes blissfully.

Thinking upon the day, Haruka appeared in her mind. She kept on imagining him repeating those words, over and over on liking Actor. It made her cheeks heat up and something clench in her stomach that made Takane want to groan out in annoyance.

Haruka's smiling face was the last thing her mind conjured up before she fell into sleep.

….

"_It's very beautiful, my dear."_

"_Do you think so? I am happy you like it...,"_

"_Hmm, where did you get it from? I hope you didn't spend too much on such a gift. After all, I'm happy with just anything you give me." _

"_I want only the best for you," the voice faltered, slightly. "And I got it from a merchant, who seemed pretty eager to get rid of it." The voice laughed, loudly and unbalanced, happily unaware of the suspicion he just caused._

_The female voice sounded sharp. "And why did they seem so eager, my love?"_

"_...Oh, er," the male voice mumbled. "They said it was cursed. But I do not believe them, it is a beautiful jewel. How can such a thing be cursed?"_

"_...If you say so, Tsukihiko."_

"_There's nothing to worry about, Azami, I promise my life on it."_

Takane slowly opened her eyes, and blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She was tired, a paralyzed type of tired that made her body _ache_. She yawned, eyes burning at the mere motion of being open. Not even trying to move, Takane only groaned as she glanced at the clock.

It was only half past twelve, in the morning.

She was tired, in the middle of the night, and she felt as if she's just been hit with a truck. With a frown, Takane tried to bury herself deeper into the sheets. For some odd reason, she felt as if she was being watched, and in the middle of the night in her _own_ bedroom?

That was not a nice feeling.

Takane shot up in bed when she finally couldn't take it anymore. "Arugh," she groaned, squinting through the darkness of the room. "I hate this, I hate this, I hate this," Takane muttered, reaching over to her cellphone that was charging on her nightstand.

Flipping it open to get at least some light, Takane noticed some texts. Some were from Shintaro, others were from Ayano; one from Haruka probably asking a stupid question. And another from an unknown number.

Deciding that the unknown number was the most important, Takane sighed and opened the text. She ignored the urge to actually get up and go to her laptop; if she was going to pull an all nighter, better do it the right way and all that.

But she was tired, and just wanted to check her messages to make sure nothing was wrong. Because something was wrong, something felt wrong, and Takane couldn't put her finger on it.

Though, reading the message, Takane figured that this was a good start at figuring what was wrong.

….

_From: xxxxxx_

_Don't give in. Don't give in. Don't give in._

….

* * *

Wanna review, favorite, or follow?

Wanna dance dance revolution?

Me too, me too.

-AJ


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